More Mayday

Since I'm on a Mayday roll here.. let's continue with another Mayday post. 

They say a smile is worth a thousand words. Ashin's trademark smirk is worth a lot more than that :)

That's the cutest smirk EVER. *melts*

Quadruple Mayday invasion

Last Friday night B.J. talked me into going to Singapore on Tuesday March 4th to catch Mayday at their SG concert promo. The lads will be here on Saturday March 1st (yay!!) to promote their upcoming concert on April 19th at Genting. B.J. was keen to go SG and I couldn't resist not going.. although that means that I have to take 2 days off work (cos it's held on a weekday!!) I didn't want to miss the chance cos it's not very often that my fave TW band comes to town. This time around they are doing their Msia and SG concert promo and concerts back to back.

The Genting concert is their final stop for their JUMP world tour. Then on April 26th they will be playing at SG indoor Stadium, the first stop for their brand new "Down To Earth" world tour. The stage set-up for the SG is pretty impressive.. with walkways and skybridge and all.

A friend of mine from SG texted me today while I was having dinner asking if I'd like to get the $108 ticket cos she plans to go. I had told her earlier that I wanted to go :) I texted her back almost immediately - YES I WANNA GO PLS GET ME A TIX :)

So now yours truly is heading to SG on March 4th and April 26th.. just to see Mayday. LOL. I must be mad.. or a really fanatic Mayday supporter :P

Love Ashin

Found some free time today to work on a banner for the Mayday concert promo at Sungei Wang this coming Saturday. It didn't take half as long as I thought to make it cos I had done up the fonts earlier.

The fonts are rather large.. I intentionally made them large so Mr Chen can see them from afar.. just in case I can't get to the front. Ahh if I had known earlier that they were coming in March and April I'd have order a LED banner instead cos those LED ones are much better. When it's lit up in the dark you can see it clearly from like a mile away.

The only problem is I can't seem to find anyone or shop here to make the banner. If I know how to I could DIY it. But I don't know how. Most people get their LED banners specially ordered in HK (that's what I was told). This one here below is made in HK and costs a bomb.

This Homeboy banner has travelled round the world from KL to Singapore, HK, Indonesia and even the USA!!

Chap Goh Mei

Today is officially the last day of CNY. Oh pooh. Alright kids.. last chance to collect ang pows today. LOL. Now I can finally get my hair cut and not worry about having bad luck for the entire year :P

Finally I got my new year clothes back from Singapore thanks to Rayne!! Umm.. I don't think they're washed yet though.. eeerr.. soiled clothing from 2 weeks ago!! I'd better pop them into the washer the first thing when I get back!!

I need to find time [and a test subject] for my new camera before the big day on March 1. Any volunteers? Hey Abby [are you reading this?] since you asked me to bring my camera out on Sunday I think you'll have to be my model k?

yee sang lunch at The Ming Room today

I've got a new camera!

I bought a new camera yesterday. A Canon IXUS 860 IS. I hate having to retire my old camera cos I've had my old Canon IXUS 40 for almost 3 years now but my old 4.0 megapixel camera feels kinda outdated LOL plus I wanted a better one with not just a higher resolution, but also with wide angle lens and a more powerful optical zoom.

I wanted to buy the new camera when I was in Singapore last weekend but it was neither cheaper there nor were the shops there offering me a better deal [I get more freebies thrown in when I buy it here] so I decided to pick it up in KL instead. In Singapore I shopped around Orchard Rd and Sim Lim and most shops were offering that camera for SG$580. A couple of them offered SG$530 when I walked out of their shops. Sheesh. The cheapest deal I got was SG$450 at a shop in Sim Lim. There's a catch however. At $450, the camera comes without warranty from Canon! I was not going to risk buying a camera without warranty.

Each time I got a price quote in SG, it was exclusive of the 7% GST. I am not sure whether it's intentional or not. Half the time they don't even bother telling me that the price is GST inclusive or exclusive. Maybe they assumed that I was Singaporean. The other thing I didn't like was the attitude of the people in those shops. I must have browsed at at least over 20 camera shops and almost every one of them weren't the least helpful had the "I-couldn't-be-arsed-if-you-don't-buy-the-camera-from-me" attitude. Most were middle-aged chinese farts. There was this one guy, when I asked him about another Canon model replied "sorry we don't have that in stock cos it's an older model". When I asked further "what's the difference between the two and which has better specs?" The old fart actually replied "You just buy whichever one u prefer la.." Another guy when I asked if they were gonna throw in a free SD card with the camera sarcastically replied "Ya you go to Canon at Harbourfront to claim the free SD yourself la.."

So in the end I bought my camera from Low Yat Plaza. On level 2 in Low Yat there are many camera shops and it's a much more pleasant experience buying it here. The guy who I bought the camera from was a rather cute looking young Chinese bloke who persistenly asked why I wanted that specific Canon model. He was trying to sell me another Sony camera.. hehe. He probably gets a higher commission on Sony cameras. In KL almost every shop offered free 2GB SD card, camera case and a mini tripod, unlike in SG where you only get a free SD card.

My new camera is still sitting in the box. LOL. I haven't had the time to test it yet. Umm.. Keroshin will be my first test subject Hahaha

100 Things You Always Wanted to Know About Me!....or Not

I nicked this from Jeanne's Facebook .. hehe.. it's posted on my "notes" in Facebook. Just thought I'd reproduce it here for the fun of it. LOL

1. How old will you be in five years? very OLD!!2. Who did you spend at least two hours with today? no one.. well I had lunch with Shio Pin for an hour today 3. How tall are you? short-ish. Go figure4. What do you look forward to most in the next six weeks? salary increment review :)5. What's the last movie you saw? Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street6. Who was the last person you called? TSP7. Who was the last person to call you? Shazal (pesky client who insisted on having my mobile no.)8. What was the last text message you received? "hi yee ling. sorry for the delay. here is the contact for the lawyer related to......." Why do clients insist on txt-ing me after office hours?9. Who was the last person to leave you a voicemail? umm.. don't remember. I think it was someone from work10. Do you prefer to call or text? text 11. What were you doing at 12am last night? reading in bed 12. Are your parents married/separated/divorced? married13. When is the last time you saw your mom? 2 hours ago14. What color are your eyes? brown15. What time did you wake up today? 7:40am16. What are you wearing right now? tanktop and shorts. It's hot here!17. What is your favourite Christmas song? I love them all18. Where is your favourite place to be? my bed :)19. Where is your least favourite place to be? at work 20. Where would you go if you could go anywhere? the top of the world21. Where do you think you'll be in 10 years? I wonder?22. Do you tan or burn? Both. Burn then tan23. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child? Werewolves24. What was the last thing that really made you laugh? A funny joke i heard earlier today25. How many TVs do you have in your house? 326. How big is your bed? Big enough :)27. Do you have a laptop or desktop computer? I have my own laptop28. Do you sleep with or without clothes on? Usually with29. What colour are your sheets? Blue30. How many pillows do you sleep with? 231. What is your favourite season? Fall32. What do you like about fall? reminds me of my birthday33. What do you like about winter? snow34. What do you like about the summer? nothing. it gets too hot in summer35. What do you like about spring? reminds me of CNY36. How many states/provinces have you lived in? 337. What cities/towns have you lived in? KL, Nottingham and Montpellier38. Do you prefer shoes, socks, or bare feet? Bare feet if i'm at home39. Are you a social person? I try to be 40. What was the last thing you ate? Dinner41. What is your favourite restaurant? Too many to mention42. What is your favourite ice cream? peanut butter choc & pralines n cream43. What is your favoruite dessert? ice cream ,truffle, eclairs44. What is your favourite kind of soup? Mushroom45. What kind of jelly do you like on your PB & J sandwich? Goober Grape46. Do you like Chinese food? Of course. Who doesn't?47. Do you like coffee? Nope. I don't drink coffee48. How many glasses of water, a day, do you drink on average? A lot. About 1.5 to 2 litres of water in a day. You should see the size of my water bottle in office49. What do you drink in the morning? Milk (in cereal)51. Do you sleep on a certain side of the bed? Nope. i sleep in the middle52. Do you know how to play poker? Of course!53. Do you like to cuddle? yep54. Have you ever been to Canada? Not yet. Gotta find time (and money) to go visit my cousin in Toronto someday55. Do you have an addictive personality? What??!56. Do you eat out or at home more often? About 50-5057. Where the hell did this question go? Don't ask me58. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you? Yes. A few in fact59. Do you want kids? sure60. Do you speak any other languages? yes. Malay and Chinese. My chinese is rubbish61. Have you ever gotten stitches? Yes. Couple of stitches on my forehead. Fell off a high swivel chair and busted my forehead when I was a kid.62. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance? Nope63. Do you prefer an ocean or a pool? Pool. 64. Do you prefer a window seat or an aisle seats? Window.65. Do you know how to drive stick? No....66. What is your favourite thing to spend money on? Anything for myself 67. Do you wear any jewelry 24/7? Yes. my necklace. Can't remember the last time I took it off68. What is your favorite TV show? none at the moment. Hardly watch TV anymore69. Can you roll your tongue? Nope70. Who is the funniest person you know? Hmm... my good fren71. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? Not anymore72. What is the main ring tone on your phone? some Mayday song73. Do you still have clothes from when you were little? why yes! I dunno why mom kept them though.. hmm74. What red object is closest to you right now? That's easy. Ang pows in my drawer LOL75. Do you turn off the water while you brush your teeth? Of course76. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? Closed77. Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of bees? Neither78. Do you flirt a lot? maybe...79. What do you dip a chicken nugget in? BBQ sauce80. What is your favourite food? a lot. too many to mention81. Can you change the oil on a car? What's that? :P82. Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket? N/A83. Have you ever run out of gas? N/A84. What is your usual bedtime? It depends. Usually around 1 to 2am on weekday nights. I don't sleep on weekends LOL85. What was the last book you read? Escape to Japan86. Do you read the newspaper? Yes. Every morning when I'm having brekkie87. Do you have any magazine subscriptions? No89. Do you watch soap operas? No. Same reason as #6890. Do you dance in the car? Have yet to try that92. Who is in the picture frame closest to you? There's no picture frame here94. What is your favourite candle scent? None of them95. What is your favourite board game? Monopoly97. When was the last time you attended church? Errr..umm.. pass. Next question please98. Who was your favorite teacher in high school? Didn't have one. Hated high school99. What is the longest you have ever camped out in a tent? 1 night100. Who was the last person to do something extra special for you? a close fren :)

Another Singapore trip?

My memory must be getting really bad.. (getting old!) cos I left my pile of new year clothes at my uncle’s place in Singapore where I was staying last weekend. I have about 3 tops and a pair of khakis in that pile. I can’t believe I left them behind and didn’t realise till I got to my gran’s house the next day. And no. I didn’t leave them behind intentionally just so I could have an excuse to go back Singapore.. hehe. (It was my friend asked me yesterday if I had intentionally left them behind.. LOL!)

So yesterday I made plans to head down again in late April to collect my clothes and at the same time, catch Mayday’s concert at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. What a great idea huh? I contacted a fren in Spore and asked if she was gonna attend the concert and if I could tag along.

Then late yesterday evening at work as I was relating the story to a colleague, she told me her mom is going down to Singapore this weekend and she could bring my clothes back for me. As it turned out, her mom is going to be staying just 2 blocks from my uncle’s place in Singapore. What a coincidence!!

So that solves the problem of getting my clothes back. But what am I gonna tell my fren about the Mayday gig? She had replied very promptly saying she'll be attending and buying the $128 tickets. But last night she sent me an email saying that she won't be attending the Mayday gig. I'm kinda relieved and disappointed at the same time cos I was hoping to catch Mayday twice in a week.

long Chinese New Year weekend

Was away for CNY and just got home today. I spend every CNY at my gran's place in Benut. Benut is a small town in southern state Johor. It's a really small kampung in the middle of nowhere. My gran is so old [she's 94 this year] that she doesn't even seem to recognise me anymore. Well sometimes she does. As usual, we'd spend the first 2 days in Johor then head down to Singapore where all my other relatives are. My dad comes from a large family and everyone moved to Singapore except my dad, who for some reason decided to move up north to KL. My uncle and family still lives in Benut with my gran.

This is the old house where my gran used to live till several years ago.

It was good to see my cousins again cos I don't get to see them often. Only once a year during CNY. But as my gran's health is progressively deteriorating, we try to make extra trips down to visit her.

I arrived in Singapore late Friday evening. Benut is a 90 min drive to Singapore but this time around I went with my uncle and the rest of my relos and my uncle decided to detour a couple of times to pick up groceries and why did he choose to travel via the Woodlands link? Traffic was so bad the journey took almost 4 hours!

I had planned to shop for a new camera in Singapore but as it turned out prices isn't cheaper there. What a total disappointment! Looks like I need to head down to Sg Wang/Low Yat this weekend. I did however pick up Ashin's new Japan photo travelguide book at Kino. It even came with the pre-order gift - a rather cool lanyard with a luggage tag. The book is so beautifully put together with loads of amazing pics. Now if only I could read the text! LOL

Escape to Japan book on sale in Kino.

The human traffic in Singapore never fails to amaze me. There are soooooo many people everywhere - particularly in Orchard Rd and Bugis. I'm not sure if it's the CNY crowd but as far as I can remember, those areas are always very crowded. Even the MRT trains were so packed. I can't stand the disinfectant smell on board those trains and when it's crowded it gets worse cos you get so many sweaty smelly people who stand soooo close to you it makes you feel like wanna throw up.

Food in Singapore is bad. I have said this once and many times before. This CNY I actually had KFC and western fare twice! Come to think of it, I had pork chop for lunch at Riblee's in Desa Sri Hartamas on CNY eve.. it was so yummy.

A couple of blocks from where I was staying in Singapore is a "coffee shop" and there's a Botak Jones western cuisine stall there selling what they claim as "authentic American food" and their tagline reads "Damn Good Food At A Damn Good Price" Yeah my foot! I had the rosemary lamb chop and it tasted nowhere even near damn good. I paid about $12 for that plate. Not exactly "a damn good price" considering that I was dining at a "coffee shop". Even the lamb chop at IMM Mall's food court is cheaper and tastier plus it's air-conditioned there. That's gonna be my first and last time dining at Botak Jones.

Rosemary lamb chop at Botak Jones

My cousin from Benut tagged along to Singapore so we had to babysit him for 2 days. The little rascal is quite a specimen.. he actually eats more than me, sleeps less than me and he's only 7! He drinks too! LOL. Well since I had to babysit him for 2 days, I figured giving him a couple bottles of beer might just put him out but guess I was wrong...

What ya looking at mate? Ain't never seen a kid drink?

Shabu Shabu

Last Friday I decided to go try out the recently opened shabu shabu restaurant at 1 Utama. It was the first time I had shabu shabu. Hee. Well to be honest it's not much different from steamboat/ hotpot. We ordered the sirloin steak & mixed set and it was more than enough for the two of us. Just like steamboat, we had a choice of soups. I went for the spicy szechuan soup.. which was OK except it was too beefy for my liking.

shabu shabu

szechuan beefy soup

Now then.. I've got a really cute gashapon of Link from Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass :) They came in the mail last month for my bro and there were duplicates of Link [3 in fact] so I pestered him for one. Ain't Link cute? Which reminds me, I have yet to finish that game on the DS. Man, I totally suck at that game! Can you believe I'm still stuck in the second dungeon. At least I'm getting somewhere on Phoenix Wright: Justice For All

Link on my keyboard

Never Forgive Never Forget

I went to watch "Sweeney Todd" in the cinema today. Didn't plan on watching it, but I was tired from all that walking in the mall. Amazingly, there was no Q at the ticketing counter and we got pretty good seats too despite picking up the tickets only about 30 minutes before the movie started.

I had no idea what the movie was about.. all I heard was it's a musical and Johnny Depp plays a barber in it. What I didn't expect was all that nonstop gore and gurgling blood throughout the film!! There was sooooooo much blood and this guy slitted so many throats of the poor customers who sat in his barber chair. Once the throat is slit, he chucks the body down in the basement where they're cooked and made into meat pies by his partner in crime. Ewwwww. And the blood.. there's so much of it!! It spurts and sprays like water from a garden hose!!!!! Eeeeeeeeeee... *faints* To be honest I did feel a wee bit nauseous at the end of the movie.

Blood and gore aside, it was a pretty dark movie but I liked it. *evil grin*